Land mine killer

Abstract

A mine destroyer round in the shape of a hollow aerodynamic disk containing explosively formed projectiles that fire toward the ground. A powered means such as a catapult or a mortar tube containing a contact explosive is used to launch the round over a mine field.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:  
     
       1. A mine killer system including a disk shaped ammunition round for destroying emplaced land mines, said round comprising: 
       a hollow disk shaped body with a vertical axis of symmetry defined by the axis of a massive rigid circularly cylindrical top plate;  
       a time delay fuze mounted in the center of said top plate;  
       a plurality of explosively formed projectiles joined to the bottom of said top plate and oriented to travel away from said plate substantially parallel to the axis of said round;  
       each of said projectiles having its own charge with a firing squib sealed in a metal shell mounted between said top plate and said projectile; and  
       said fuze being interconnected with said squibs to fire them simultaneously after a predetermined time delay.  
     
     
       2. A mine killer system according to claim  1 ; wherein: 
       said disk shaped body is covered with a frangible coating shaped to provide aerodynamic lift and stability to said round, when launched in a direction normal to its axis parallel to the earth and rotating about its axis.  
     
     
       3. A mine killer system according to claim  2 ; wherein said system further includes: 
       a powered means to launch said round rotating about its axis, with a component of direction normal to its axis and with its axis normal to the earth.  
     
     
       4. A mine killer system according to claim  1 ; wherein: 
       said round consists of two disk shaped plates pinned together at their centers, each of said plates radially defining an equal number of identical pie shaped sectors with each sector including an identical slot sloped with respect to the center radius of said sector;  
       said disks being inverted to one another and pinned together at their centers, whereby said slots cross to provide a plurality of radially adjustable intersections; and  
       each of said projectiles engaging a different one of said intersections.  
     
     
       5. A mine killer system according to claim  3 ; wherein: 
       said launching means is a catapult.  
     
     
       6. A mine killer system according to claim  3 ; wherein: 
       said powered means is a mortar tube into which said round is dropped; and  
       a pressure sensitive explosive charge is located at the bottom of said tube that explodes on contact with said round.  
     
     
       7. A mine killer system according to claim  6 ; wherein: 
       the inner surface of said mortar tube is round with a rifling groove to spin said round.  
     
     
       8. A mine killer system according to claim  6 ; wherein: 
       the inner surface of said mortar tube is rectangular with one of its narrow walls having a greater coefficient of friction than the other to spin said round.  
     
     
       9. A mine killer system according to claim  5 ; wherein said catapult includes: 
       a rectangular tube rotated about an axis normal to said tube's broad walls near one end of said tube; and  
       one of said tube's narrow walls has a greater coefficient of friction than the other to spin said round.  
     
     
       10. A mine killer system according to claim  7 ; wherein: 
       the outer cross-section of said round is less than the inner cross-section of said tube; and  
       a cylindrical sabot with an outer cross-section equal to said inner cross-section surrounds and firmly engages said round.  
     
     
       11. A mine killer system according to claim  8 ; wherein: 
       the outer cross-section of said round is less than the inner cross-section of said tube; and  
       a cylindrical sabot with an outer cross-section equal to said inner cross-section surrounds and firmly engages said round.  
     
     
       12. A mine killer system according to claim  9 ; wherein: 
       the outer cross-section of said round is less than the inner cross-section of said tube; and  
       a cylindrical sabot with an outer cross-section equal to said inner cross-section surrounds and firmly engages said round.